Epson Home Cinema 2030 Projector: Cons

Black level performance is definitely “near entry level” nothing to write home about. It’s typical for a $1000 projector, which means there are some that are better

Black level performance means that really dark scenes don’t pop – even in a fully darkened room but then you probably aren’t putting it in a room that good

No gamma control, and default could be closer to ideal

Sharpness, while very good, isn’t up to the best single chip DLP projectors at the price point

Minor 3D crosstalk (varies depending on the 3D brightness setting)

Lacks lens shift (also true about every competing projector but one)

A bit noisy, which is common with projectors in this price range. Better in eco-mode

Lacks CFI – creative frame interpolation which is a nice touch for sports but hardly a “life and death” feature

Could have a more powerful speaker system (home theater projectors don’t even have speakers)

Well, finally there’s a 1080p home projector using 3LCD technology to break the $1000 price barrier – $999 for the HC2030, or $899 for the HC2000. Having that technology choice definitely widens your options in terms of performance.

The only projectors that are brighter for home are really business projectors in disguise – “crossover” projectors. While these Epson’s do share some things with their business projectors, this projector has definitely been optimized for the home. Unlike, for example, the Acer H6510 or Viewsonic PJD7820HD, neither of which comes close to matching the color handling and natural color that the HC2030 is capable of.

If you are looking for a family projector – or a projector for the sports fanatic, and your budget is around $1000, this Epson Home Cinema 2030 is very likely your best choice, especially when you consider the great warranty, ease of use, etc. However, if you really want a projector for a dark surfaced, home theater type room with complete lighting control, you could look to one or two DLP projectors that well may be a better fit. (That assumes you aren’t rainbow sensitive.)

I had one of my fantasy football buddies over for the pre-season games this weekend. He just couldn’t believe that the Epson HC2030 is only a grand. Fooled him. I even after a while switched to the HC5020UB. As far as he was concerned, unless I turned on CFI (on the 5020UB) he was equally happy with either. They are almost identical in brightness, and both just blasted light onto the screen.

And for all my usual grumbling about black levels, I did manage to watch half a dozen movies and didn’t suffer any mental anguish, even if I was reminded from time to time that the Epson Home Cinema 2030 is no match for that Epson 5020UB, or my old $8000 JVC RS20, who’s blacks are still pretty state of the art.

A fun projector, an excellent value, and likely the most hassle free solution you can consider near the price! Are you ready?

Discover bright cinematic adventures at home with the Home Cinema 2030. Enjoy Full HD 1080p performance practically anywhere, in 2D or 3D. Images are always rich and brilliant with 2000 lumens brightness.

News And Comments

Nicholas

Hi. Thanks for an extremely expansive review!
I am looking into this pj(Epson 2030), and read a lot about the black level. I imagine that I will be running it in something like eco-mode and maybe with the iris feature on. In that case will the black level be a bit better…and how much?

ProjectorReviews.com

Hi Nicholas, there are two aspects of black levels. Ideally we want them to be very good for watching dark scenes. Any ambient light quickly destroys much of the difference between the best and least good of under $2000 projectors. Assuming you can darken your room fully, the other aspect is watching on your screen. If you have say a typical 16:9 screen and are watching a movie – say on Blu-ray, and it’s wide screen, then you have the black bars at the top and bottom. When black levels aren’t great, those bars become medium dark gray – so while you tend not to notice, they frame the movie, instead of blackness. That’s why a lot of us, with more expensive projectors go with wide screens – 2.40:1 roughly. That way no letterboxing on most movies, but we do get letterboxing on the sides with HDTV content and a few movies (most animations).

Bottom line depends whether you are more looking for “home entertainment” rather than “home theater”. The latter is more critical. Personally, the big differences occur not so much between Epsons, Acers, Optomas, BenQ’s and Viewsonics in the under $2000 crowd, but rather between those and the serious black level projectors that start just above $2000 with the Epson 5030UB, the Sony HW55, any JVC, etc. Those are a big step up.

If budget allows, a better “home theater” projector would be the Optoma HD161X (and they are apparently starting to throw in a free wireless HDMI kit. Price around $1299. -art

Nicholas

Wow, thanks for replying on a two-year old review!

Well, I have been into CRT projectors for almost 20 years, and I very recently dismantled my Marquee 8500 Ultra projector. It was a hard choice, but we will be moving soon(1-2 years) and I never got the beast on the ceiling

I just ordered the Epson 2030(EU version, TW5100), to be used as a ‘turnover’-projector. Run it into the ground, and as you say, get D-ILA or the like at 3-4k. I have no illusion about black level on the cheaper projectors, and I am sure it will be a lot worse than my Marquee CRT. However, I have not been using the Marquee CRT in a totally dark room for years! I already have a black wall and white screen.

I did go and check out a DLP, for the first time ever. It was the Optoma HD26. It was horrible with the rainbows…I do not want to go the DLP route. Not even with faster color wheels etc. Besides, my wife thinks that color wheel tech is VERY strange Having said that, I almost ordered the W1070 instead(it is about 150USD more expensive), but I made the LCD choice…I can live with flaws and shortcomings, but the rainbow effect is a defect to me. A very strange experience seeing them, especially on the white subtitles.

The Epson should be here in a day or two, I will tell you what I think about it, is that ok?

Thanks,

Nicholas

ProjectorReviews.com

Looking forward to your feedback. It’s been a while since I’ve heard from anyone with CRT projector experience. -ART